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MOO
MOORE, a parish, in the half-barony of MOYCAR-
NON, county of ROSCOMMON, and province of CON-
NAUGHT, 2½ miles (E.) from Ballinasloe, on the road
to Athlone, and on the rivers Shannon and Suck;
containing 4376 inhabitants. Disturbances have oc-
casionally occurred of late years at this place, which
has been the scene of many outrages. The parish
comprises 9856½ statute acres, chiefly arable and poor
land; there are about 100 acres of bog, easily re-
claimable, as there is a fall into the Shannon and Suck,
which latter river merges into the Shannon, at right
angles, at Shannon bridge good limestone is abundant.
Petty sessions are held at Ballydangan every Thursday;
and there is a constabulary police station, about a mile
from which, at Tully House, is a chief station of the
constabulary force. The principal seats are Clonburn,
the residence of J. Knight, Esq.; Falta, of T. Power,
Esq.; Thomastown Park, of E. H. Naghten, Esq.;
Castle Park, of W. Kelly, Esq.; Birch Grove, of Mrs.
O’Shaughnessy; Killawn, of E. Duffy, Esq.; Tully, of
Mr. Lowry, the chief constable; Woodpark, of Owen
Lynch, Esq.; Kilbegley, of B. Newcomen, Esq.; Cor-
reen, of J. T. Potts, Esq.; two at Shannon Bridge,
the respective residences of A. and D. Lynch, Esqrs.;
and Dromalga Cottage, the property of Sir R. St. George,
Bart., now occupied by Mr. Dexter. The living is a
rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Tuam, episcopally
united to the vicarage of Drum, and in the patronage
of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £224. 10., of which
£ 12 is payable to the dean of Clonfert; and the gross
tithes of the benefice are £302. 10. The church is
a neat building, erected, in 1825, by a gift of £900
from the late Board of First Fruits: the basement story
is appropriated as a residence for the sexton’s family.
The R. C. parish is co-extensive with that of the Esta-
blished Church, and contains a chapel at Clonfad and
another at Moore. There are two private schools, in
which are about 100 children. At Clonburn, Moore,
and Kilbegley, are ruins of churches with burial-
grounds attached.
MOORECHURCH, a parish, in the barony of UPPER
DULEEK, county of MEATH, and province of LEINSTER,
4 miles (N. W.) from Balbriggan, on the mail-coach road
from Dublin to Belfast; containing 1009 inhabitants.
The parish comprises 4860 statute acres, of which 4562¼
are applotted under the tithe act; two-thirds of the land
are arable, and one-third pasture, and about 56 acres
are woods and plantations. Agriculture has greatly im-
proved; the land in the eastern part of the parish is of
very superior quality, and noted for the neatness of the
hedgerows. Near Dardistown is a good flour and corn-
mill; and in the vicinity is a small tuck-mill. The
principal seats are Dardistown Castle, the residence of
H. Osborne, Esq.; Mosney House, of G. Pepper, Esq.;
Claremount, of B. Clare, Esq.; Moorechurch, of G.
Yates, Esq.; and Claristown, of Jas. Ennis, Esq. The
coast is here a broad shallow strand, in view of which
are the Cargee rocks, off the Dublin coast, dry at
half-tide, and on which a beacon is fixed. It is a
vicarage, in the diocese of Meath, forming part of the
union of Julianstown; the rectory is impropriate in
George Pepper, Esq. The tithes amount to £550, of
which £450 is payable to the impropriator, and £100 to
the vicar; the glebe comprises 9½ acres, valued at
£28. 18. 6. per annum. In the R. C. divisions it is
392
MOR
part of the union or district of Stamullen; there is a
neat chapel at Sarsfieldstown; where also are remains
of an ancient stone cross. Ruins of the old church
exist; and in the burial-ground is a tomb-stone to the
memory of Jane Sarsfield, Dowager Baroness of Dun-
saney, who died in 1597.
MOORGAGA, a parish, in the barony of KILMAINE,
county of MAYO, and province of CONNAUGHT, 5½ miles
(N.) from Headfort, on the road to Ballinrobe; contain-
ing 518 inhabitants. The parish comprises 1362¼
statute acres of arable and pasture land. It is a rectory
and vicarage, in the diocese of Tuam, forming part of
the union of Kilmainmore: the tithes amount to £55.
In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district
of Kilmain. There is a private school, in which are
about 160 children. From the fine ruins of the abbey
of Kill, part of the possessions of the Benedictines in
the 12th century, situated near the border of a small
lake, an extensive and interesting view is obtained.
MORA, or MOORESTOWN, a parish, in the barony
of MIDDLETHIRD, county of TIPPERARY, and province of
MUNSTER, 3 miles (W. by S.) from Fethard; containing
813 inhabitants, and comprising 2400 statute acres, as
applotted under the tithe act. The living is a rectory,
in the diocese of Lismore, being the corps of the prebend
of Mora in the cathedral of Lismore, and in the patron-
age of the Bishop: the tithes amount to £259. 7.11.
About 70 children are educated in a school aided by
the rector: the school-house was built by subscription.
MORANSTOWN.—See ALMORITIA.
MORGANS, a parish, in the Shanid Division of the
barony of LOWER CONNELLO, county of LIMERICK, and
province of MUNSTER, 4 miles (W.) from Askeaton, on
the road from Limerick to Tarbert; containing 470
inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the
southern bank of the Shannon, comprises 1847 statute
acres, as applotted under the tithe act; the land is ge-
nerally fertile, but, being much subdivided into small
holdings, is badly cultivated; yet it produces good corn
and potatoe crops, and some of the low lands afford
excellent pasture. In the Shannon are several islands;
and near the banks of the river is Mount Pleasant, the
residence of Mrs. Sandes. It is a vicarage, in the dio-
cese of Limerick, forming part of the union of Nantinan,
and of the corps of the precentorship of Limerick; the
rectory is appropriate to the vicars choral of Limerick.
The tithes amount to £54, of which £36 is payable to
the lessees of the appropriators, and £18 to the vicar.
In the R. C. divisions it is part of the union or district
of Shanagolden. There are extensive ruins of the old
parish church, called Templemuireguiedan, originally
erected by the Knights Templars, and rebuilt by the
Franciscan monks of Askeaton, in 1496.
MORNINGTON, formerly a parish, now merged into
Colpe, and called Colpe-cum-Mornington, in the barony
of LOWER DULEEK, county of MEATH, and province of
LEINSTER, on the southern bank of the river Boyne,
and near the entrance’ of the harbour of Drogheda, 2
miles (E.) from Drogheda; containing 265 inhabitants.
This place is enumerated among the possessions of the
abbey of Colpe, at the dissolution, as “the farm of
Weisley.” It is now merely a fishing village, consisting
of 42 houses, a bridge over a stream which empties itself
into the Boyne, and a small R. C. chapel, belonging to
the union of St. Mary’s, Drogheda. Here are the ruins